Washington (CNN) – She went from atheist to Catholic in just over 1,000 words.

Leah Libresco, who’d been a prominent atheist blogger for the religion website Patheos, announced on her blog this week that after years of debating many “smart Christians,” she has decided to become one herself, and that she has begun the process of converting to Catholicism.

Libresco, who had long blogged under the banner “Unequally Yoked: A geeky atheist picks fights with her Catholic boyfriend,” said that at the heart of her decision were questions of morality and how one finds a moral compass.

“I had one thing that I was most certain of, which is that morality is something we have a duty to,” Libresco told CNN in an interview this week, a small cross dangling from her neck. “And it is external from us. And when push came to shove, that is the belief I wouldn’t let go of. And that is something I can’t prove.”

According to a Patheos post she wrote on Monday, entitled “This is my last post for the Patheos Atheist Portal,” she began to see parts of Christianity and Catholicism that fit her moral system. Though she now identifies as a Catholic, Libresco questions certain aspects of Catholicism, including the church’s positions on homosexuality, contraception and some aspects of religious liberty.

“There was one religion that seemed like the most promising way to reach back to that living Truth,” Libresco wrote about Catholicism in her conversion announcement post, which has been shared over 18,000 times on Facebook. “I asked my friend what he suggests we do now, and we prayed the night office of the Liturgy of the Hours together.”

At the end of the post, Libresco announces that she is in a Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults class and is preparing for baptism. She will continue to blog for Patheos, but under the banner, “A geeky convert picks fights in good faith.”

According to Dan Welch, director of marketing for Patheos, Libresco’s post has received around 150,000 page views so far.

“Leah's blog has gotten steadily more popular since she arrived at Patheos, but a typical post on her blog is probably closer to the range of 5,000 page views,” Welch wrote in an email. “Even now, a few days later, her blog is probably getting 20-30 times its normal traffic.”

Libresco’s announcement has left some atheists scratching their heads.

“I think atheists were surprised that she went with Catholicism, which seems like a very specific choice,” Hemant Mehta, an atheist blogger at Patheos, told CNN. “I have a hard time believing how someone could jump from I don’t believe in God to a very specific church and a very specific God.”

Mehta says that Libresco’s conversion is a “one-off thing” and not something that signals any trend in atheism. “The trends are very clear, the conversions from Catholicism to atheism are much more likely to happen than the other way around,” he said.

But while atheists were puzzled by the conversion, others commended Libresco.

“I know I’ve prayed for her conversion several times, always thinking she would make a great Catholic,” wrote Brandon Vogt, a Catholic blogger. “And with this news, it looks like that will happen. Today heaven is roaring with joy.”

Thomas L. McDonald, a Catholic Patheos blogger, welcomed Libresco to the fold: “Welcome. I know this was hard, and will continue to be so. Don’t worry if the Catholics make it as for difficult for you as the atheists. We only do it to people we love.”

Libresco says one of the most common questions she has received is how she'll deal with atheists now.

“The great thing about a lot of the atheist and skeptic community is that people talk more critically about ideas and want to see proof provided,” Libresco said. “That kind of analytical thinking is completely useful and the Catholic Church doesn’t need to and should not be afraid of because if you’ve got the facts on your side, you hope they win.”

The non-believer has his own subjective version of what is right and wrong.

And the non-believer is just as subject to hell as the believer.

June 23, 2012 at 1:31 pm |

dudley

Question: from where did the idea of the 'right thing[s] to do' originate? An evolved species would have animal tendencies and would not take into consideration morality. It's most prominent consideration would be survival, regardless of what may occur to those outside of its immediate family unit.

June 23, 2012 at 1:34 pm |

One one

The golden rule is a good guide to morality. It's simple, it's obvious, and there is no need to believe in magic to understand it and for everyone to expect everyone else to follow it.

I'm not worried about hell, I don't believe heaven or hell exits. They are myths.

June 23, 2012 at 1:41 pm |

Nope!

@Capitalist
Please change your handle, because you give Christianity a bad name! I'm sure you pride yourself in name you chose, but God is not smiling on what you erroneously take pride in! Those others you mentioned as god-less are no worse off then greedy capitalists who pretend to care about morality but shut their eyes to all injustice done to people which God hates, and has plenty to say about!

June 23, 2012 at 1:43 pm |

Nope!

On one, Whether you're worried or not, the facts don't change! There is God, there is Heaven, there is Hell. And you'll spend your eternity in one or the other. It all depends on what you do with Jesus Christ, whom God sent to redeem mankind.You have only one life, one chance, And TWO choices!

June 23, 2012 at 1:49 pm |

Larry Pepper

The believer also has a subjective view of right and wrong as well. He only has the illusion of objectivity. The reality is that his view of right and wrong will not coincide with other believers from times, or even the Bible. Allow me to prove it.

Is slavery right or wrong? Only a total nut of a modern Christian would say yes. What does the New Testament say, in the name of Jesus? Check out Ephesians 6:5-9 – it not only supports slavery; it tells you the proper protocol for it. This isn't the Old Testament, it's the New.

Christian morality is not universal either. It has changed radically. Right for Christians in 1690 Salem was to kill women as witches. Wrong was to resist it. Christian morality is relative, as much as you hate to admit it.

June 23, 2012 at 1:50 pm |

One one

@nope. Really ? What is the evidence that heaven and hell exist ?

June 23, 2012 at 1:56 pm |

PRISM 1234

Larry, your conclusions about Christianity are erroneous, because you have your eyes on those who claim it. But if you knew God and His son Jesus Christ by the revelation of the Holy Spirit of God , you would understand that God is the One who set the Standards, i. e. laws of morality, and they are unchangeable.
Man perverts anything he gets his hands on, because man's nature is corrupt And Satan knows if he can impersonate God's people , that many won'\t come to Christ because they don't see Christ in His followers. If you are a man of "critical thinking" as you people love to boast of, then you should understand clearly the concept of what i'm saying!

June 23, 2012 at 2:02 pm |

PRISM 1234

What is the evidence that heaven and hell exist ?

The evidence is in you, given to you by God in your conscience (till you silenced it inn pride), and the evidence is around you. It is written on the canvas of the endless universe, as well as in the tiniest particle of the matter human eye have ever seen.
The proof of the evidence you're looking for was sent to this earth long ago, and as they rejected Him then, they would do the same now if He came again.... It is like He said about the rich man in Hell, who begged for someone to be sent to his brothers so they wouldn't end up in that horrible place.. But the answer was given him, if they didn't believe the prophets and Moses, they would not believe one coming from the dead! You will noever have proof of f what Truth is, unless you humble uyourself and desperately cry out, longing to know! Otherwise, for you then only one thing remains: to find out what it is when your day of Appointment comes!

June 23, 2012 at 2:20 pm |

One one

@prism. So god, who is perfect and all powerful , created man to have a corrupt nature? Then he created Satan and allows him to cause all sorts of problems ? He even had to kill his own son th fix the mess he caused on the first go-round. Then he created hell to torture people who don't worship him forever. Of course, this is all a myth. But do you expect "morality" will really be found in such an absurd story?

June 23, 2012 at 2:21 pm |

PRISM 1234

Nope, it didn't go in that order...LOL!
But you go ahead and rail your accusations against your Maker! You'll have a chance to make your case in His Court soon enough! Then you'll have it all settled!

June 23, 2012 at 2:26 pm |

Larry Pepper

Sorry Prism, but even though you cannot stand the thought, your religion has radically changed its morality over the centuries, and I already gave you examples. Your religion has no absolute right and wrong. God totally changed the weird laws of the Old Testament . . . that's pretty much the opposite of universal. That's not pople – that's your own God (and his earlier morality really sucked, by the way).

And your God's own behavior as described in your perfect Bible is sick, vicious, hateful, and basically immoral. How can your God be a source of morality when he behaves like such a murderous hate-filled monster?

Most of the morality you obey isn't in the Bible. Where did it come from?

June 23, 2012 at 3:11 pm |

dudley

Another interesting observation would be: how many of those who cannot understand faith, who counted this woman as an intellectual hero while she was a prominent voice on their particular side of the topic, now lump her with the legions of ignorant, deluded believers, and dismiss her and her words just as easily?

June 23, 2012 at 1:27 pm |

Uh, yeah

Actually, absolutely none of us in 61 pages of comments has ever heard of her. Not a one. It's very hard to be a prominent hero when nobody knows you exist.

June 23, 2012 at 1:30 pm |

Chuckles

Considering this is the first I've heard of her, I'm not sure where she fits. I honestly only group fundamentalists as the crazy deluded sheep so my guess is I just sort of pity her that she needed to become religious in order to justify her morals. The fact that she's also joining a church that she has fundamental qualms with leads me to believe that she's not going to last incredibly long there anyways.

June 23, 2012 at 1:32 pm |

Voice of Reason

Don't understand faith? How so? Also, I have never heard of this young woman before as she sat her butt on some religious website. On top of it she converts? Give me a break, only someone like you would buy a story like that.

June 23, 2012 at 1:35 pm |

dudley

Ah. I have misinterpreted their reaction completely. A complete dismissal of her both before and after her change is the prominent reaction.

Thank you.

June 23, 2012 at 1:37 pm |

Chuckles

Dudley

Did you not react the same way from the similar article of the priest who became an atheist and now travels around helping other people "come out". Did you know of this guy before? Was he a preacher that you now group with all the other "unbelievers"

My guess is that younfeelnthe same aboutnthatbguy as we do about her

June 23, 2012 at 1:42 pm |

dudley

That conversions occur in either direction (as it were) is a matter of fact and not open to debate. That would be fruitless.

Questions are the best catalyst for discussion and debate. Arguments are unproductive. Avoidance of the emotional side of the centuries-old discussion about faith and religion is the better way to reduce the noise and to understand the other side of the question. (Some here prefer the Ron White – as he described himself – style of debate which does not promote mutual understanding.)

June 23, 2012 at 1:52 pm |

Chuckles

Dudley

It was just a simple statement. I wasn't arguing or debating it was just asking the same question of you. Of course people switch from religious to non and vice versa but did you have an opinion of the guy from the previous article? Same applies here, no one really knows who she is and her conversion made about as much of a wave as a fly does in an ocean.

June 23, 2012 at 3:48 pm |

Steve

Hey, Christians found a way to cure gays. Now they have found a way to fix atheists. Amazing.

June 23, 2012 at 1:26 pm |

Judith

I do not kill because it hurts other people. I do not steal because it hurts other people. I do not commit adultery as there are enough single men in this world. I do not covert my neighbours husband as I would not want the complications. I do not give false witness agaisnt my neighbour, well the truth is bad enough. I would honur my mother but she is dead but my father I can only feel contempt for. If there is only one god; how can you have another god before him? What day is the sabbath, religions cannot even agree on that. Why would anybody take god's name in vain, after all what is his name? What is a graven image?

I live my life by principles because they are right and moral: I do not live my life by my principles because because somebody says god tells me to.

Only a fool believes that the world cannot be moral without a god.

June 23, 2012 at 1:16 pm |

dudley

It is an interesting observation that these moral values that you excellently hold are basically the same all over the world (with some exceptions, of course.)

June 23, 2012 at 1:23 pm |

Duh

Graven image... Fiat currency.

June 23, 2012 at 1:31 pm |

Jimmy G.

dudley – Not true. Murder is approved in many cultures, as is stealing, lying, and worshiping statues. You should get out more.

June 23, 2012 at 3:48 pm |

dudley

This is not unprecedented. The first shocking conversion occurred to the single unbeliever who was the most vitriolic in their hatred of Christianity. For those who do not or cannot believe in faith this must be very confusing.

She is neither the first nor the last to whom this conversion has or will occur. Imagine the weight that she feels lifted from her shoulders. It must feel like being able to fly. Will be an honor to meet her.

June 23, 2012 at 1:03 pm |

Dan

Sounds like what happened when I became an atheist.

June 23, 2012 at 1:06 pm |

Voice of Reason

Hey, maybe you'll meet her in heaven, right?

June 23, 2012 at 1:07 pm |

GAW

Well if I have to become an atheist it won't be because of years of careful study, use of logic reason and the weighing the cost of alienation. Instead it will be because I don't want to be bullied and called and idiot, a moron, believer in fairy tails or delusional on the CNN belief blog by other atheists.

June 23, 2012 at 1:14 pm |

dudley

Debates on faith and religion are perhaps the only ones in existence whereupon those who proudly proclaim their absolute ignorance of the topic proclaim likewise their proficiency to make judgments about it due expressly to that ignorance.

[Ignorance here being defined in the classic sense – a lack of first hand knowledge of the topic in question. It is not meant to place into question your intellectual capacities.]

June 23, 2012 at 1:19 pm |

GAW

She is converting to Catholicism but not buying the whole package. This does describe most American's approach to religion which is why so many avoid organized religion and opt for a kind of privatized faith. Whether she stays, abandons or transfers to another expression of Christianity remains to be seen.

June 23, 2012 at 12:47 pm |

One one

What morality will she acquire after converting that she could not have before converting ?

June 23, 2012 at 12:41 pm |

Chuckles

Guilt, just a mountain full of terrible guilt

June 23, 2012 at 12:49 pm |

Peteyroo

Chucklehead, good one!

June 23, 2012 at 12:52 pm |

Herb

God is angry every day...maybe at YOU!!!!!

June 23, 2012 at 12:31 pm |

Voice of Reason

How can you live like that?

June 23, 2012 at 12:33 pm |

Herb

I just submit myself to God and tell others what he says. Don't hide from him he knows all of your filthy thoughts.

June 23, 2012 at 12:35 pm |

Voice of Reason

I'm not hiding from anyone brother. One thing I can say for sure though is that you are one twisted individual. If you think something is watching you then you really should get a psych check-up, seriously!

June 23, 2012 at 12:41 pm |

JWT

I cannot even beging to care what anyone's god feels or thinks.

June 23, 2012 at 12:43 pm |

GAW

May be a troll. Don't be dumb by taking the bait.

June 23, 2012 at 12:51 pm |

Peteyroo

God is an angerball! He definitely has anger issues.

June 23, 2012 at 12:54 pm |

Peteyroo

Herb, you blowhard sheep! You submit to God and do whatever he tells you. Do you hear voices?

June 23, 2012 at 12:55 pm |

GAW

Again you morons have probably been trolled by Herb...Cant you read the sign Don't Feed the Trolls. You guys must be in your 50s to not know that.

June 23, 2012 at 1:00 pm |

Dan

God needs a therapist.

June 23, 2012 at 1:03 pm |

dudley

Essentially, this is accurate, and with good reason. But the Blanket that covers us is what makes us acceptable to God, not anything that we can do or think. This amazing grace is from where the joy of faith comes.

The perspective that allows believers to see God working, as opposed to 'unexplainable phenomena', is one of the evidences of this joy.

June 23, 2012 at 1:10 pm |

Larry Pepper

Actually, there was a Herb who posted crazy Christian stuff like that for quite a while here. A real Lake-Of-Fire froth-mouth. He did a lot of the name-shifting thing, and has probably always been here in other guises. Could be him. Stupid and crazy enough to be him.

June 23, 2012 at 3:18 pm |

TheCapitalist

Voice of Reason & Chuckles...

The only reason you resort to mockery is because your argument is not based on SUBSTANCE, and so you must attempt to discredit the messenger, as opposed to addressing the message.

I feel you are a fool too... but I will make you look foolish by debating circles around you... not by calling you a "poopey-head".

When one side is making a point while the other is making fun of the other side... automatically doubt the mocking side... if they HAD substance, they would use it.

June 23, 2012 at 12:27 pm |

Chuckles

Like I said, I'm really trying hard not to mock you, it's just tough when it feels like I'm discussing with an infant. As for the substance part, did you not see what I wrote or just decided to ignore it? It's not my fault if you have no reading comprehension.

June 23, 2012 at 12:30 pm |

Voice of Reason

Please provide some reasonable substance, not make believe or unproven.

June 23, 2012 at 12:32 pm |

TheCapitalist

Chuckles... I had responses to the 8 of you atheist fanatics attempting to gang up on me... and it's lost out in cyber-space somewhere... go ahead and reiterate your most pressing issue...

And see if you could express yourself like something more than a 4-year old going "nanny nanny poo poo"...

June 23, 2012 at 12:34 pm |

I_get_it

TheCapitalist,

Back-space your page until you find the one where your "censored" post is in this message box. Fix it, according to the "Helpful Hints", and repost it - sheesh!

June 23, 2012 at 12:37 pm |

Chuckles

I don't recall ever saying "nanny nanny boo boo", but hey, I guess if you have trouble reading, that would undoubtably have been the tone.

And your "response is retrivable if you read what helpful hints wrote. There are naughty words within words that get filtered so even when you write something like va.gue , it won't appear because va.g is a bad word, get it?

Lastly, what exactly do you want me to explain to you, I've already given many examples and rebuttals, so which one is the hardest for you to understand?

June 23, 2012 at 12:38 pm |

Yeah whatever

Debate rings around us? Really? I've read some of your comments and you obviously don't know your own Bible. Most of your assertions are really out there, so much so that I don't see any point in debating it. I mean, it is very very hard to take anyone seriously who says absurd things like "The "6 days/6,000 year-old-earth" meme is either propaganda to distort and mock Christianity, or often well-intentioned assumptions by new or superficial christians." You clearly don't know that the 6 day part came from Genesis, and the 6,000 years old thing came from Christian theologians working from the geneologies of the Bible (and accepted for centuries as true by the Pope and Protestantism), and absolutely none of it is a meme or propaganda from the other side. That's just crazy talk.

June 23, 2012 at 12:39 pm |

Mark From Middle River

The last resort is for them to ridicule.

Hold strong Cap. 🙂

June 23, 2012 at 12:40 pm |

TheCapitalist

Voice of Reason...

There is more substance and proof corroborating the Christian and Bible account of existence then there is for any other "theory on life" out there. Hundreds of prophecies have been PRECISELY fulfilled by the Bible, attesting to its divine nature. Roman citizens who did not believe in Jesus, wrote about Him and acknowledged that He did miracles (though they tried to explain them away as "sorcery"). Science has discovered chariot wheels in the Red Sea, sea level rises above trees during the period of the great flood, and skeletal remains of giants (though there is concerted effort to keep these under wraps as "hoaxes"). People nowadays are having visions and "near-death experiences" that science cannot explain away as a hallucination because of the lack of brain activity, and people from all walks of life are confirming similar experiences. We're talking about a Saudi Arabian Muslim convert seeing the same thing as a Colombian youth seeing the same thing as an American atheist. Science itself is full of proof of God... irreducible complexity, the Anthropic Principle... even the scientist behind the human genome project CONVERTED TO Christianity after working on the project.

Just the tip of the iceburg on "proof"...

June 23, 2012 at 12:41 pm |

Chuckles

Mark

Aren't you supposed to be in the middle as your name professes? Also it's possible, as shown, to ridicule AND refute at the same time.

My question for you is, do you believe all the nonsense that Cap here as spewed? If not, then please help show him his errors and help correct him instead of urging on his ignorance.

June 23, 2012 at 12:44 pm |

TheCapitalist

Yeah whatever...

I most certainly do know the Bible. Yes, theologians trace the 6,000-year approximation back to ADAM in terms of his geneology and the human family history... but that does not mean that the EARTH ITSELF is 6,000 years old. Yes, the 6 days of creation are in Genesis, AND, as the Bible depicts... the earth was ALREADY HERE before those 6 days of creation began.

June 23, 2012 at 12:45 pm |

Bob

TheCapitalist-When you speak to the atheists you have to use a writing style that they can relate to . Attempting otherwise would be lost on them.
You are doing great!

June 23, 2012 at 12:45 pm |

Know What

Mark From Middle River
"The last resort is for them to ridicule."

Sometimes, “Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus.”
― Thomas Jefferson

June 23, 2012 at 12:45 pm |

Let's hear it

Uh Capitalist? You are making that up. There is no contemporary account of Jesus anywhere. The first Gospels date to a couple DECADES after his death, the first non-Christian mention is about 80 years later, and the first Roman mention about a century. No Roman account mentions sorcery.

Yoou are pulling "facts" out of your butt.

June 23, 2012 at 12:47 pm |

Voice of Reason

Wow! You're right! I cannot debate that. I wouldn't know where to start. Your proof is so overwhelming I'm speechless. It is clear that you have a deep conviction of the supernatural and frankly there is no debate or answers that could sway you. I just have one request. For all the claims that you make you place a god at the cause. Would you please be so kind and prove your claim that a god exists? Once you do that I think we can start having a reasonable conversation.

June 23, 2012 at 12:50 pm |

Polergiest

Very true Capitalist, they won't provide any argument because their is no actual way to know whether or not there is a god or the nature of existence after death. No amount of logic, supposition, or deduction can change that. The problem for many atheist is that they seem to stow absolute faith in their own beliefs while belittling anyone who thinks differently. Honestly for all the complaining they do about non-aethiest, their actions can sometimes have alot in common with religious fervor.

Hence some aethiest stop sounding logical once you point out any flaws in their arguments because at this point their merely defending their beliefs and not really trying to have some sort of logical discussion.

June 23, 2012 at 12:53 pm |

Mark From Middle River

KnowW- Are you speaking of the same Thomas Jefferson that also carried on a affair and had children with his wife's slave who was also her half sister?

>>>”My question for you is, do you believe all the nonsense that Cap here as spewed?”

The part about how some Atheist, just like some Faithful find themselves unable to debate find themselves throwing insults and ridicule as the last tool in their toolbox....yes on that. Same as a Faithful throwing out that “God will judge you” to a Atheist. Both are not ways to settle an debate.

As for “all” …Well, one that is a loaded question because I feel that part of many folks arguments have a light of being a bit of truth to them.

Also, I remember something that Romney said a week ago. If you agree with every position and view that a candidate holds then congratulation because you are the candidate him or herself. I do not think that was original but it is true.

June 23, 2012 at 12:58 pm |

Voice of Reason

@Polergiest

Very true Capitalist, the believers won't provide any argument because their is no actual way to know whether or not there is a god or the nature of existence after death. No amount of logic, supposition, or deduction can change that. The problem for many believers is that they seem to stow absolute faith in their own beliefs while belittling anyone who thinks differently. Honestly for all the complaining they do about atheists, their actions can sometimes have alot in common with religious intolerance.

Hence some believers stop sounding logical once you point out any flaws in their arguments because at this point their merely defending their beliefs and not really trying to have some sort of logical discussion.

June 23, 2012 at 12:59 pm |

Peteyroo

Crapitalist, I feel sorry for you. You were thrust into a world completely unprepared. Your low IQ and lack of imagination thwart you at every turn. You have but one choice: call an atheist to straighten you out and get you on the straight and narrow. Call the atheist hotline where a bank of volunteers (all atheists of course) will guide you through your difficulties including shucking off your misplaced faith.

"The CRAZIEST religion is the one that believes that if you put paper and ink in a room together, that it'll 'evolve' into a dictionary."

But if you're GONNA debate, then debate! Resorting to mockery simply indicates that you are losing the debate.

June 23, 2012 at 1:00 pm |

Chuckles

Oh dear, we're back to the "atheists sound like they're religious" point to try and drag us into your domain.

First, it's spelled atheist, please get that right. Secondly, I never claim I know the truth and so far I have not seen any atheist who does. I'm willing to be the first to admit i just don't know. Evidence points to theories and they're reputable and so I trust those more than a religious person using the bible as the only source of proof for history, science, philosophy, ect...

The issue here that many people have so much trouble understanding is that I don't have to have the right answer to know yours is wrong, comprende? You as.sume when I point out the ridiculousness of genesis that it automatically means that I believe the flip side as vehemently as you believe genesis, but that's just in your head.

June 23, 2012 at 1:03 pm |

Polergiest

@Voice of Reason

You highlighted my point precisely. The brand of atheism your championing is so close to a religion that you can use the word interchangeably with any faith. For all practical purposes, to be a die hard atheist without acknowledging the possibility of god is a faith. Christians can use faith as an excuse for a lack of answers, that's the nature of a religion. But as an atheist claiming to know the real truth isn't suppose to have a faith to fall back on, only facts.

June 23, 2012 at 1:08 pm |

Chuckles

Mark,

I only ask because you cheering on Capitalist might be your way of defending a person getting ganged up on, but wouldn't it be better if you pointed out in a nice way that some of his ideas are straight up bullsh.it? Many people frequent these boards to cure ignorance, whether it's that ignorance is a belief in god or not. But you encouraging cap's asinine comments is encouraging his own stupidity just so he feels better. It's important to uncover the ignorance before it can be cured, would you not agree?

June 23, 2012 at 1:09 pm |

TheCapitalist

Peteyroo... My low IQ was sufficient to get me a 1430 on my SAT's (out of 1600) and a full-ride scholarship to Rutgers University-New Brunswick, with 9 college credits already on my high school graduation day. Not trying to tout myself but I suppose I will indulge your desire to deal with intelligent people.

Polergiest and Voice of Reason...
While NOTHING can be proven DEFINITIVELY with JUST logic or reason... UNLIKE many Christians who are apologists for illogical faith, I emphasize that there is a component of logic within faith. For example, a logical diet and exercise routine can bolster a stronger faith in your ability to get in shape. Likewise, there are logical steps that can lead one to conclude that Christianity is the MOST LIKELY explanation in a logical sense, and THEN take the step of faith into belief. Atheists do this too... as they compile logic and evidence which leads them to atheism as the most likely, and then they take the step of faith of full-on belief.

Christianity is the only thing that explains the world around us, science, the nature of good and evil, the Pyramids, everything is BEST explained or rationalized by the Christian account. So, not only is there a lot of CONTENT evidence in support of Christianity, but there is also a lot of CONTEXT within which ONLY Christianity fits. For example, the theory of evolution is contradicted by the existence of technically advanced pyramids that we could not even re-create today, or by ancient hieroglyphics that depict our solar system before Galileo ever made his discoveries, whereas these things fit perfectly well within the Christian account that acknowledges the antediluvian and/or pre-Adamic worlds.

June 23, 2012 at 1:14 pm |

Voice of Reason

@Polergiest

I am so sick and tired of you foolish people. You are fortunate to have the life you have but for some crazy and perverted reason you feel that you have to have some god and some religion to make sense to your brief existence. Why? Don't you think if there was proof of a god then there would be no way anyone could refute it? Why does there have to be a god and a religion? I do not need it to survive. I have lived nearly 75 years and time is running out for my existence, that's a fact. I will die and that will be it, so what? I take every minute of my existence and enjoy except when I am faced with this nonsense of religion and god.

June 23, 2012 at 1:14 pm |

Let's hear it

@Capitalist 'the theory of evolution is contradicted by the existence of technically advanced pyramids that we could not even re-create today"

Oh dear, you have your tin foil suit on as well as your supersized tin oil hat. Evolution contradicted by pyramids . . . that's so weird and ridiculous that I'm not even sure where to start with it. Christianity is the only thing that can explain pyramids? Do expand on that flash of brilliance. Technically advanced pyramids? Where are they, and what makes you think they cannot be recreated? Evolution and pyramids . . . oh why am I even bothering to talk to you? You are a total nut. That's not only crazy, it's downright stupid.

June 23, 2012 at 1:24 pm |

Joeg

Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. -Marcus Aurelius-

If we could just all live this way the world would be an easier place.

June 23, 2012 at 1:27 pm |

Chuckles

@the capitalist

Wow, you did so well on your SAT's, you must be a genius..... Wait what was that later in your paragraph? Evololution is debunked by the pyramids? Want to explain that one boss? For a person who toots his own horn about how smart he is, you certainly seem to need a lot more study on ancient history, science, and general philosophy coupled with theology. Just stating that Christianity explains the bible ( but not say, Stonehenge) it somehow makes it true? Please use your humongous brain that you apparently possess and try again and actually back up claims instead of just making it.

Thanks!

June 23, 2012 at 1:27 pm |

Know What

TheCapitalist,

"There is more substance and proof corroborating the Christian and Bible account of existence then there is for any other "theory on life" out there. Hundreds of prophecies have been PRECISELY fulfilled by the Bible, attesting to its divine nature."

- Hundreds of prophecies have been massaged to seem like they have been 'fulfilled' . See here (and many other writings) for some of them: http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Failed_biblical_prophecies

"Roman citizens who did not believe in Jesus, wrote about Him and acknowledged that He did miracles (though they tried to explain them away as "sorcery")."

- No contemporary Romans wrote of Jesus. Tacitus and Josephus, for example, wrote long afterwards and simply reported about what Christians were claiming. Tacitus and Josephus also wrote about Hercules (more mentions than Jesus)... does that mean that Hercules was/is real?

"Science has discovered chariot wheels in the Red Sea,"
- So what? Did they discover hundreds of them? Thousands?... which would match the Exodus story?

" sea level rises above trees during the period of the great flood,"

- So what? Floods happen all the time. There is no evidence of the entire world being flooded at the same time after human habitation.

" and skeletal remains of giants (though there is concerted effort to keep these under wraps as "hoaxes")."

- C'mon...

" People nowadays are having visions and "near-death experiences" that science cannot explain away as a hallucination because of the lack of brain activity, and people from all walks of life are confirming similar experiences. We're talking about a Saudi Arabian Muslim convert seeing the same thing as a Colombian youth seeing the same thing as an American atheist."
- Do Muslims and Amazonian tribesmen and atheists see Jesus?

"Science itself is full of proof of God...irreducible complexity, the Anthropic Principle..."

- No comment. I am not well-versed on the "Anthropic Principle". Others here are, however. Watch for their comments.

"even the scientist behind the human genome project CONVERTED TO Christianity after working on the project."
- Stay tuned for further developments there...

June 23, 2012 at 1:28 pm |

Polergiest

@Voice of Reason

Perhaps you should be looking elsewhere for the source of your sickness. I don't understand how some random persons personal belief could cause you grief unless it was indicative of a deeper issue. If you're truly the happy 75 year old atheist you claim to be someone believing in god shouldn't really matter to you.

June 23, 2012 at 1:30 pm |

Voice of Reason

@Polergiest

I do have morals and ethics, I know, pretty amazing considering I'm an atheist. I feel I have an obligation to my fellow man to help evolution along to rid our world of religious nonsense. It is destructive and wrong. Just my opinion.

"So what?" and "c'mon" are not rebuttals. They wrote about Hercules in terms of a myth or legend, whereas they wrote of Jesus in terms of a historical figure. On a sidenote, it is funny how you just contradicted an argument that many atheists make, which is to say that Jesus was just copycat myth derived off of "ancient gods" like Hercules. It is ironic that in the atheist scramble to debunk Christianity, they end up debunking each other. Furthermore... so what if they wrote of Hercules? That means they have no credibility? If Bill Maher talks about Jesus (who is akin to Hercules in atheists' minds), does he suddenly have no more credibility with you?

Seriously? Can't you see you posted something that you said I said and I didn't say it? You're a f*ucking idiot with absolutely no sense of reality or the truth. You don't even understand the basics of evolution. You are lost in some imaginary world that someone made-up. You cannot think for yourself, you have no critical thinking skills and you continue to delude yourself. In other words you do not make any sense.

June 23, 2012 at 1:55 pm |

Know What

TheCapitalist,
"it is funny how you just contradicted an argument that many atheists make, which is to say that Jesus was just copycat myth derived off of "ancient gods" like Hercules."

I did nothing of the sort.

Josephus was a Jew - he died as a Jew. Don't you think that if he thought (or knew) that Jesus was "God" and the "Messiah", he would have run over and joined up with those folks? The same for Tacitus. He was neither a Jew nor a Christian.

They reported on what the followers *claimed* about the man... long after the alleged events - hearsay. Interesting, for sure, but do not use them as one whit of "proof" of the supernatural Bible legends.

June 23, 2012 at 2:11 pm |

The Wise Club

Libresco-Congratulations on leaving the fools club and joining the elite at The Wise Club.
Good choice!

June 23, 2012 at 12:26 pm |

Gordon

Glad she realized her folly quickly and made a decision in the right direction. Imagine living a fool all your life.

June 23, 2012 at 12:30 pm |

Uh, yeah

Fool's club? The Wise Club? Are you two 7 years old? I mean, that's grade school paradigm.

June 23, 2012 at 1:28 pm |

Bet

More like the He-Man Woman Hater's Club.

June 23, 2012 at 2:53 pm |

TheCapitalist

Wow CNN... will you post ANY of my comments?

June 23, 2012 at 12:20 pm |

Helpful Hints

See previous page (#60)

June 23, 2012 at 12:23 pm |

I_get_it

TheCapitalist,

(Or) Ask the "Holy Spirit" for guidance!

June 23, 2012 at 12:27 pm |

ITZ UH KONSPEERASEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why is it always the dumbest, craziest Christians that immediately presume that CNN is trying to censor their very important viewpoint? Just amazing. We'll be hearing about "liberal press bias" and other BS cliches in a minute.

No, rocket scientist, as has been stated MANY times before, there is a naughty word filter that block words like consti.tution and circu.mstance. There is enough of a clue in that last sentence for you to figure out what is happening and how to deal with it, unless you are a total moron – which your posts show unfortunately.

June 23, 2012 at 12:28 pm |

TheCapitalist

HelpfulHints... There are several comments which should have appeared on pg. 61 but haven't.

I_get_it... you should too

itzakonspiracy... There is a liberal bias in the media... have you been living under a rock?

June 23, 2012 at 12:31 pm |

abcontador

This stinks of a ploy- highly highly suspect

June 23, 2012 at 12:19 pm |

Voice of Reason

You think? It's just another hopeless stab from the religious types. It is so blatantly obvious to be a ploy.

June 23, 2012 at 12:29 pm |

What the hell was she thinking?

It's really a shame Leah did not come here and read the thoughts of her fellow Christians and Catholics. That would have cured her of her illusions of their superior Moral Law. But she will learn that soon enough.

She is going to get what she wanted, good and hard . . . especially since she is a bisexual gay-rights advocate who is strongly pro-birth-control.

June 23, 2012 at 12:16 pm |

GAW

Reading the thoughts of most of the atheists brings about the same effect. I guess I have to NOT believe in God or the supernatural lest I be called an idiot, moron, stupid, delusional ect. I guess I cant question you guys just like I cant question Fundys.

June 23, 2012 at 12:23 pm |

Voice of Reason

@GAW

What's your question?

June 23, 2012 at 12:26 pm |

GAW

Question as in doubt the veracity or methodology of an ideology.

June 23, 2012 at 12:29 pm |

Mark From Middle River

I do not think it was a question just a observation that many of the Atheist comments here are of radical extreme of their group just like many of the Faithful comment's are of the extremes of that group. The anger and vitriol is flowing from both sides here Voice.

June 23, 2012 at 12:30 pm |

Voice of Reason

@Mark From Middle River

Same old stuff just another day.

June 23, 2012 at 12:38 pm |

GAW

@ Mark From Middle River Good point. Keep on the middle river and you will avoid going over the falls.

June 23, 2012 at 12:38 pm |

Mark From Middle River

>>>"Same old stuff just another day."

With the amount of text (comments/post) that some of us can and have put up here I am surprised that we did not receive W2s from CNN this year. 🙂

Try this, if we added up all of the text that some of us make for a year and then how much of editor Stephen Prothero's words get posted, who's do you feel would be the greater number?

June 23, 2012 at 12:45 pm |

Edumacatin

Mark From Middle River,

I'm sorry for being picky, but you (and some others) make this mistake over and over:

The plural (more than one) for post is posts (same for atheist – atheists, scientist – scientists, archeologist – archeologists, and many other words ending in -st).

And, while we're at it - it's "whose do you feel would be the greater number".

June 23, 2012 at 12:59 pm |

Smite Them

For probably the umpty-umpth time why is CNN calling her a TOP atheist blogger? Get outta here...

Next to nobody has ever heard of her or her web site.

June 23, 2012 at 12:15 pm |

iambetterthanu

5k pageviews, that doesn't even pay for web hosting let alone classify her as popular.

June 23, 2012 at 12:28 pm |

Mark From Middle River

Hey, who had heard of Rev Terry and the Westburo Baptist church or the pastor who made the anti-gay sermons until they appeared here on CNN? But the editors painted it as if all of us Christians had been in these guys congregation.

The other week a Conservative radio host, in the middle of the country whose radio station barely made it out of his state, attacked Romney. The way it was reported it was if Rush Limbaugh had of attacked Romney.

This is CNNs hope, to give more voice to those on that will build more controversy... which builds more viewers, ..which brings in more profits. My Atheist friends, its just yall's turn at bat now. 🙂

June 23, 2012 at 12:38 pm |

Guest

Then she was never a true Atheist
Id love to be able to believe in an all powerful,all loving god

but too many children get murdered and too many slimeballs live the easy life for me to believe that.
If there is a god,he either doesnt care or cant do much of anything,and in the end I think the idea of god is just a concept.

but enough of a comment that no one will ever read and ill never see again.

June 23, 2012 at 11:57 am |

Nilkinggary

I read it. Suppose there are depths to spirituality that you have not yet grasped? Too difficult to imagine? Yet you probably know that we can observe only 4 percent of the mass and energy in this universe. The rest is currently beyond the pale, and its nature is a mystery. Maybe there are aspects of spirituality that are similar. Something to spend a Saturday pondering...

June 23, 2012 at 12:10 pm |

GAW

Then she was never a true Atheist – Isn't that begging the question?

June 23, 2012 at 12:19 pm |

Jacob S

I love the "never was a true atheist" argument. It reminds me so much of the (incorrect) statement made by some fundamentalists that if a person "looses" their Christian faith, they never really had it to begin with. It highlights, in fact, how atheism can sometimes become (emphasize the sometimes) just as narrow and unthinking and require just as much or more blind faith then a certain type of atheist to accuse all other religions of being or requiring.

Which is certainly not to say that all atheists are that way. But in my experience, the more vehemently anti-religious the atheist, the more like a religion, or at least like what these atheists claim a religion to be, is their atheism.

June 23, 2012 at 12:20 pm |

catholic Joe

I read it.

June 23, 2012 at 12:20 pm |

catholic Joe

GAW: There is no such thing as a true atheist...What you can't take with you after this life, and the faith therein is proof enough for me and good enough reason for anyone's conversion, even yours, on your last day.

June 23, 2012 at 12:24 pm |

GAW

@ Jacob S Finally a person who knows how to critically think. Thank you sir.

June 23, 2012 at 12:25 pm |

Jenny

"She was never a true atheist....." Who are you to say who is and who isn't a true atheist? So, she converts to Christianity and all of a sudden she was never a true atheist because she had a change of heart? I was an atheist for many many years. I argued with Christians over the existance of God and constantly studied scripture so I could uncover as many biblical contradictions as I could. I am a very well-read and intelligent person, so my reasons for being an atheist had nothing to do with me being angry at God for bad things happening in the world. To me, that argument is a weak one that has no grounds. To be angry at God, you first must have faith that He exists. I had no faith in God, so how could I be angry at something that I believed wasn't real? It makes no sense to me when a so-called atheist as yourself makes a statement like that.

My point is this, I was a true atheist in every sense of the word. I did not believe in God, despised all religions and was convinced that most Christians were idiots who had no ability to think for themselves. However, several years ago I had a change of heart.........slowly the Lord began changing my heart. I began to listen to God and began looking at scripture in a way I had never had before. I was no longer concerned with trying to find fault in God's word, but in looking for the truth that was always there. I couldn't see it before, because I simply wasn't looking for it. I was an atheist, a true atheist, who later became a Christian.

June 23, 2012 at 2:01 pm |

TheCapitalist

Colin... oil is a natural resource... like metals or any other natural resource. You want to play Jeopardy now?

Chuckles... it is only natural that beings subject to time, like me and you, cannot comprehend a Being that is outside of time, like God. He always was, is, and will be... just because you cannot comprehend that, does not change the truth of it.

And by the way... contrary to your atheist comedians, the Bible very much indicates that the earth has been here long before Adam and Eve, and that there were creations here before Adam. The "6 days/6,000 year-old-earth" meme is either propaganda to distort and mock Christianity, or often well-intentioned assumptions by new or superficial christians.

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The earth was already in existence, flooded, empty (void... indicated it was "filled" previously), and in a state of destruction before God ever said "let there be light" on the first "day" of THIS creation.

June 23, 2012 at 11:49 am |

Guest

Colon Oil?

June 23, 2012 at 12:05 pm |

Voice of Reason

The plain simple truth is that you are ignorant, your statements are ridiculous.

June 23, 2012 at 12:12 pm |

Chuckles

What a ridiculous cop out. "god exists because he always has, duh" is in no way less stupid than your earlier assumption that atheist believe something came from nothing. We might not know exactly how life first occurred, we have theories from the evidence before us and will change if new, differing evidence is provided. We did not get this from middle eastern tribesman from 6000 years ago who just came up with an idea similar to their babylonian neighbors.

As for genesis... What a joke. How can the earth exist before the sun? How could light happen without the sun? What about plants?mremember the sun was created (according to genesis at least ) on the 4th day and man on the 6th. If you want to believe that the earth as we know it is older than 6,000 years you have to resort to all sorts of dishonest idea in order to rationalize how all this "happened" and still somehow matches with what actually happened.

You are a fool, plain and simple

June 23, 2012 at 12:22 pm |

Star Performer

Since I'm in the thick of it no matter where I go, I always maintain a good rapport with everyone I meet.
Keep up your good rapport with everyone you meet & you'll be happy with the results.
Keep pitching smart answers & your actions will stay smart.
Should anyone ask you your beliefs – I always tell them "I believe the world is going pear-shaped."
This is known as an ice-breaker.

God, the Father, delivered God, the Son, Jesus, for our sins and raised him from the dead for our justification.

Everybody, who simply believes that and gets baptized becomes righteous. This righteousness means forgiveness of previous sins and a redeemed or delivered live in Christ. Forgiveness and deliverance are connected and cannot seperated from each other. There is no forgiveness without a delivered life.

What about the law or commandments?

The commandments only have shown us our sinfulness or that we are not in a blissful state. By faith in the gospel we receive a person of the holy Trinity, which dwells in us and thus we live a life, which is not in conflict with the law, but fullfills it. Actually a Christian needs no commandments, because he is led by the Holy Spirit, which causes love and righteousness.

http://confessingchurch.wordpress.com

June 23, 2012 at 11:25 am |

Cq

"Actually a Christian needs no commandments, because he is led by the Holy Spirit, which causes love and righteousness."
So, what you're basically saying is that seeing yourself as a Christian gives you license to do anything you feel the Holy Spirit leads you to do? Isn't that a recipe for justifying any act whatsoever, like those Christians who murdered abortion doctors?

Please note that I said that the Spirit causes love and righteousness.

I would never kill an abortion doctor, but only tell him, if appropriate, that his work is a sin in itself.

Of course, any authority or administration of a country can make harsh laws against abortion and then punish the evil doers.

Yet, the Christian Church is not the authority. Our task is it to offer the gospel to sinners, so that they may repent.

June 23, 2012 at 11:38 am |

madonfan

Cq: Many Christians have done things in the past that God would have never honored. We do still have free will you know. Just because Christians do things "in the name" of Christianity, doesn't mean we can naturally assume it was an act of God. Also, people complain about God being a mean God. If you look at the history of some of the people who lost their lives in the bible, they were horribly wicked and wretched people performing unspeakable acts. Nobody likes to point out the fact that God came down in human form to die for His people so He wouldn't have to do another Noah's Ark. So that He didn't have to be so disgusted with His people that He had to annihilate them. Jesus didn't only die for the eternal penalty of sin, but He died to keep His wrath from His people as a whole so they could make a choice. To walk in love and obedience to Him, or suffer the "eternal" consequences instead of everyone suffering the temporal all at once. The amazing thing is, God doesn't force anyone. He gives a choice. It is a choice made freely and it is the best one I ever made. The sad reality is, people make a choice that since they don't "agree" with the bible, it must not be true. That is not so. As a society, denominations were formed because of the parts of the bible people "did" like, and they don't include what they don't like in their teaching. The bible is only controversial and offensive to those who probably will never be changed by it. The world doesn't want to be convicted of its sin, so they find ways to avoid the teachings of the bible. The world is prideful. It is too prideful to submit to anyone. Sound familiar? It should, satan fell the same way and was just as stubborn. Faith, is the only way there will be validity of God to anyone. God makes it clear "the just" shall live by faith, NOT SIGHT. People can keep digging, but 100 percent proof of God will never exist on the earth until He returns. It's just that simple. Not everyone will believe either. That is quite simple too. Spinning your wheels like a hamster only brings exhaustion. SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND. Only with an open heart to actually find God, not in hopes you don't. That is how you will get your proof if you actually want it. Many are scared to find it because they don't want to retract their stupidity. Good thing we don't serve a God that thinks that way. He is just overjoyed when anyone finds Him. Look at the Apostle Paul. He used to kill Christians but wrote 2/3 of the New Testament. I would say there is no doubt that his change, was something other than himself.

June 23, 2012 at 12:07 pm |

Nilkinggary

And just how is it that you are uniquely blessed to have come upon he truth of the Gospels and are now compelled to let the rest of us know?

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.